Axle-box frame for car-trucks



(No Model.)

J. A. BRILL. AXLE BOX FRAME FOR OAR TRUCKS.

No. 492,525. Patented Feb. 28, 1893.

Unrrnn STATES ATET union.

JOHN A. BRILL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

AXLE-BOX FRAME FOR CAR-TRUCKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 492,525, dated February 28, 1893.

Application filed July 22.1892. Serial No. 440,879. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, TOHN A. BRILL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city and county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have made a new and useful Axle-Box Frame for Oar-Trucks; and the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is such a full, clear, and exact description of my invention as will enable others to practice and use the same.

My invention relates more particularly to street car trucks, and especially such as are in use on electric and cable railways, and the like.

My invention primarily consists of a new article of manufacture, to wit: an axle box frame, as it is called, made in one homogeneous piece, so that in the construction of the frame all bolts, rivets, the. are dispensed with,

and the said frame thus becomes a concrete thing, homogeneous throughout.

My invention further consists in the particular formation of the parts of this frame so that the said frame may be adapted for use upon cars having diagonal braces which pass up from the lower truck trusses or braces, or as usual from the lower part of the outside spring posts, and up to the projecting or overhanging ends of the car body supported on the truck.

Referring to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view from above, showing my new article of manufacture. Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line m m of Fig. 1.

At the present time it is almost a universal practice and especially in many motor and grip cars itis customary to construct the truck with what is commonly known as an axle box frame, which is a frame made up of two side bars composed of a single or a plurality of juxtaposed members, and lateral bars or braces bolted thereto, the frame being carried either on the tops of the axle boxes, or else being supported from the said axle boxes by suitable links or supports, which may, or may not, be so arranged as to allow the frame to have a lateral motion. Such frames are shown in earlier patents which have been granted to me and to George M. Brill. In some cases springs are interposed between such frames and the tops of the axle boxes for the purpose of furnishing a slight elastic cushion between the metalof the frame and the metal of the axle box. The object of these axle box frames in a truck structure is to furnish a support which practically has no appreciable motion or no motion of any extent, in relation to the track; that is, motion up and down,

or to and away from the ground over which the car is passing. The thing to be supported, or carried, by these axle box frames is either the motor, if the car is to be operated by electricity, or the grip, if the car is to operate in connection with a moving cable. It is also customary on these frames to support the brake mechanism, track sanding devices, 850.

The car springs may, or may not, at their lower ends bear upon the axle box frame. This detail may be arranged in various ways. It is customary, however, to locate the spring posts in such a position in relation to the axle box frame that the spring posts pass down through a hole in the said frame, which hole may be larger than the spring posts to allow of play between them; and if the bottom of the car spring bears upon the upper surface of the frame the lower ends of the spring posts may be suitably braced, and move up and down with the car body through the holes in the said axle box frame.

It is further customary to construct that part of the axle box frame in the shape of a saddle or yoke which embraces the axle box, which saddle is extended outwardly to form seats for the car springs," and through these seats the spring posts pass, they being braced together, the side bars or longitudinal members of the axle box frame being bolted to the saddles. The preferred plan of constructing the said axle box frame is to provide it with inverted U shaped housings or saddles, which embrace the top and side of the axle boxes and serve as guides, in a measure, for the said axle boxes; the spring posts serving, in most cases, as pedestals, in a measure, to keep the axle box frame in proper position. The parts are so co-related when put together that they tend to, and do, mutually preserve their proper relative positions, and preserve the parallelism of the axles.

The common method of constructing such frames before the date of my invention has been to provide two side bars, with or without the saddles or housings, which were either There are certain difficulties in the manu facture of this structure, and there is a certain amount of liability of the bolts which unite the parts cutting from the continual wear to which the structure is subjected.

Now, my invention consists in forming this axle box frame as one single homogeneous piece of metal, having the housings the side bars and the lateral braces formed of one solid forging, or by casting, as hereinafter set forth.

I may form my new axle box frame either of wrought iron forged into shape; or I may form it from mild cast steel, and give it the desired shape by casting, my present invention not relating in any way to the methods of forming the new article herein described. I however prefer-to forge the same.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an axle box frame constructed in accordance with my invention.

A, A, are the side beams; B are the housings or saddles; b showsopeuings in the housings within which the axle boxes are located.

G are the lateral members, and there may be any number of these lateral members extending between the side bars at any desired point; at shows theopenings adjacent to the saddles through which the spring posts d may pass; and the car springs may, if desired, reston the upper surface of the axle box frame about the hole through which the spring posts pass which is enlarged for this purpose.

Hitherto, so far as Iam aware, no axle box frame has ever been madeas a homogeneous piece, but that havealways been constructed of parts bolted or riveted one to the other. I

have found it highly advantageous to form this frame as a single piece, as shown in the drawings, the cross members 0 being formed homogeneous to the side members A of the frame, and the housings B being made homogeneous' with the side pieces. The article produced in this way is superior to any of the structures that have hitherto been produced, as it possesses both the advantages of use and is advantageous in construction. The parts can never get out of line, if of sufficient strength, and there are no rivets or bolts, to be worn out or cut through.

Although the preferred form shows the internal saddles or housings as being present in thestr ucture,l do not limit myself to them as the substance of my invention will be present Without them.

The second part of .my invention consists of the same article that has been previously described, but in which the ends dot the side beams Awhich are extended beyond the saddles are provided with the slots m, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The

purpose and object of making the end A of the'frame bifurcated, as shown, is to enable the frame to be used upon those cars wherein a brace passes up from the lower member of the truck frame to the car body, such as is shown in the patent to J. A. Brill and G. M. Brill, No. 430,418, June 17, 1890, in which said brace passes from the lower portion of the outer spring posts to the car.

At d I have indicated one of the spring posts without the car spring, and have shown the brace at 02 passing upward from the spring posts d through the bifurcation in the end of the axle box frame. In practice usually four of these braces 01 are used. It is usual, where this class of brace is used to provide a thin1- ble, such as e, the rear end f of which is apertured to permit the springpost to pass through it, the forward end being provided with a preferable cylindrical boss 9 (shown indotted lines) upon which the brace 7t rests and to which it is secured in any desired manner. The brace 91 is usually tubular in cross section, so I have shown the boss g so for apparent reasons, but anycontour or shapeof either boss, or brace can be used. Between the thimble and theside beams can bein-terposed elastic .or other washersh, i, to .act .as users or cushions, and from the post d the pedestal tie-barj .can be, all of which structure is not new in the presentcase. As these braces 02 at their upper ends unite with the car body, and at their lower ends connect with the spring posts, they of course haveall the up and down motion of the car body; and as the axle box frame has practically no up and down n10- tion,or only such as it may get by reason ,of the existence of the rubber washer, or thin spring, between the housings and the axle box, it is clear that provision must be made, first, for the running of the .braces In upward; and second, for the movements of the braces n in relation :to'the axle box frame, which is, when compared with the movements of the car body, relatively stationary, so far as up and down motions are concerned.

The object of carrying out the axle .box frame beyond the outer spring posts, as shown in the drawings, is to enable fenders to be secured thereto in front of the wheels, or springs, when desired, to be used-in connection with such ends, and between such ends of the axle box frames and the car body, as is clearly shown in the patent of G. M. Brill, No. 478,218, dated July 5, 1892, and for .many other purposes.

My main invention, to wit, the new article of manufacture consisting of an axle box frameof a single homogeneous piece, is not limited to a frame so extended; but the second part of my invention, to Wit, an axle 'box frame having solid side bars (asdistinguished from a plurality of bars) extended beyond the outer spring posts at each end,and bifurcated, is in this regard limited to that class of structure in which it is desirable to extend the ends of the axle box frame for the purpose of supporting elliptic or other springs between the car body (or upper chord if one is used) and the extended ends of the axle box frame, or for any other purpose.

The spring posts cl may be secured to the sills of the car, or to the upper cord,as in the patent of July 5, 1892, to G. M. Brill before referred to.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An axle box frame made into a single homogeneous piece of metal, and comprising longitudinal members, axle-box housings or saddles having their bearing surfaces within the plane of the web of the longitudinal members, and a transverse member or members, the union of the longitudinal members being made at or near their ends, substantially as described.

2. An axle box frame formed into a single homogeneous piece of metal having housings for the axle boxes formed integral With the longitudinal members, which are intermitted about the housings, the tops of the housings lying above the plane of the longitudinal members, the housings being open between said intermitted portions, anda lateral member or members formed integral with the said longitudinal members, substantially as described.

3. An axle box frame formed into a single homogeneous piece of metal having longitudinal members, the lateral members uniting the longitudinals at or near the ends thereof without the use of a central bolster or transom; the ends of the longitudinal member being bifurcated, substantially as described.

4. An axle box frame formed of one piece of metal, having housings for the axle boxes formed integral with and extending above the longitudinal members, which are intermitted about the housings and a lateral member or members formed integral with the said longitudinal members, the ends of the longitudinal members being bifurcated, substantially as described.

5. An axle box frame having side beams, said side beams having extended ends formed in one solid piece and bifurcated, the bifurcated ends being transversely united substantially as described.

6. An axle box frame having side beams, said side beams being formed of one solid piece, having integral housings, the side beams being intermitted about the housings and having bifurcated extended ends, substantially as described.

7. An axle box frame formed of one homogeneous piece of metal, having integral axle box housings between its ends, the frame be ing intermitted about the housings which extend above the frame, and integral lateral members extending between said ends, substantially as described.

8. An axle box frame, having side beams, housings on said side beams, and lateral members uniting the sidebeams between the ends and the housings, said side beams, housings, and lateral members being formed into one single homogeneous piece of metal, substan- 7o tially as described.

9. An axle box frame, having side beams, housings on the side beams, the side beams extending past the housings, and lateral members uniting the side beams between the ends and the housings, the extensions of the side beams being bifurcated, substantially as described.

10. An axle box frame, having side beams and cross uniting members all made into one io single homogeneous piece of metal, the side beams having housings between its ends integral therewith, said beams being bifurcated, said housings being between the bifurcated 'ends of the side beams substantially as described.

1.1. An axle box frame, having side beams and cross uniting members all made into one single homogeneous piece of metal, the side beams having bifurcated ends between which the cross uniting members extend, substantially as described.

12. An axle box frame, having side beams and a cross uniting member or members all made into one single homogeneous piece of 5 metal, the side beams having integral housings between its ends, and spring post apertures adjacent to said housings, substantially as described.

13. An axle box frame in which theside I00 beams, cross uniting members, and axle box housings are formed of one piece of metal, the side beams being intermitted about the housings which form openings or axle box bearing surfaces between the intermitted ends of the IO 5 side beams, substantially as described.

14. An axle box frame having side beams, housings on the side beams, the said side beams extending past the housings, and lateral members uniting the side beams between I I0 the ends and the housings, the side beams, housings, and lateral members being formed of one piece of metal, substantially as described.

15. An axle box frame having side beams, :15

housings on the side beams, the side beams extending past the housings, spring post apertures in the side beams adjacent to the housings, lateral members uniting the side beams between the ends and the housings, the I 20 side beams, housings, and lateral members being formed of one piece of metal, substantially as described.

16. An axle box frame having side beams intermitted at certain points between its ends, I 2 5 within the intermitted portions of which lie axle box housings or yokes, the side beams extending past the housings, and lateral members uniting the side beams between the ends and the housings, the side beams, housings, 1 0

adjacent tosa-id housings, the side beamsbe f ing enlarged aboutsaid apertures to form sup- 1 ports for superposed springs, substantially as termitted ends of the side beams, spring post apertures d adjacent the housings, and cross described.

18. The axle-box frame having the sidebeams A, and a crossuniting member or members; lying in the same general plane, axle box housings or yokes on the side beams, the bearing surfaoes'of which extend beyond said plane, either above or below,'the side beams being intermitted about said housings, all of which are formed in'toa single homogeneous piece of metal, substantiallyas described.

19. Theaxle box frame having the side beams A, the housings B extending above the side beams, which are there in-termi-tted, the open yoke of the housings being between the inu-nitingmembers,all in one'homogeneous piece of metal, substantially as described.

Signed at the .city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, this 20th day of July, 1892.

JOHN A. BRILL.

Witnesses:

R. S. REED, BENJ. 0. WILSON. 

